Advocates renew Patriot Act opposition

More than 30 people attend meeting on rights

As U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft began a tour in support of the USA Patriot Act Wednesday, dozens of Lawrence residents renewed their warning that “Big Brother” has arrived.

Fearing that the federal government has too much power to monitor citizens, the Lawrence Bill of Rights Defense Committee is trying to educate the public about federal anti-terrorism legislation such as Patriot Acts I and II and related measures under consideration.

“It’s a systematic dismantling of the Bill of Rights,” said Rich Wenzel, a committee member.

More than 30 people showed up Wednesday night at the Lawrence Public Library to discuss their rights and the perceived threat to them.

C.J. Brune, of Lawrence, was one of them. Brune said she hoped city and county officials would passively not enforce the acts by ignoring them.

“It’s a very bad act,” Brune said of the Patriot Act. “I think Ashcroft has gone way out of bounds.”

The Bill of Rights Committee has asked Douglas County and Lawrence city commissioners to pass resolutions opposing the Patriot Acts and hopes to persuade them to do so, Wenzel said. There were no public officials at Wednesday’s meeting.

Legislators in Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont and more than 150 communities around the country have passed anti-Patriot Act measures.

Supporters of Patriot Act II are trying to push the measures through piecemeal as riders on other bills, Wenzel said.

“They are doing it in a very sneaky way,” he said.

Patriot Act I was passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Many of the measures allow law enforcement officers to surreptitiously read e-mails and search people’s homes without their presence and without a warrant, Wenzel said.

“These are the kinds of Draconian measures that I grew up reading about in Stalinist Russia,” he said.

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee was formed about six months ago by 12 people with varying backgrounds. It has garnered the support of the Douglas County ACLU and Lawrence Neighborhood Assn., among others, Wenzel said.